Garage door only closes if i hold the button
This is almost always a photo-eye sensors are faulted. Repair costs $125 to $300 and takes 30 to 45 minutes. Safe to operate: Yes.
Check this first — it may cost you nothing
Check both sensor lights near the floor. Wipe the lenses and nudge the misaligned one until its light is steady. That resolves most of these at no cost.
Why this happens
Holding the button is a deliberate override built into every opener made since 1993. It exists so a door with failed safety sensors can still be closed under constant supervision — which means the sensors, not the opener, are the fault.
Holding the wall button bypasses the sensors — so if the door only closes while held, the sensors are blocked, dirty or out of alignment.
Less likely, but possible
- A cut or pinched sensor wire along the track
- A sensor that has been wet and failed permanently
- Direct sunlight overwhelming the receiver at certain times of day
What happens if I ignore it?
Nothing degrades mechanically. But the safety reversal is out of action for as long as this continues, which is exactly the protection that has been federally required since 1993.
The repair: safety sensor repair
Garage door safety sensor repair costs $125 to $300, but a door that reverses on closing is most often solved for free by wiping the lenses and realigning the brackets — a five-minute fix that needs no tools.
Read the full safety sensor repair guide →Get a tech dispatched
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